The Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax: What Really Happened?

The Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax: What Really Happened?

Jussie Smollett is an actor best known for playing Jamal Lyon in the drama Empire, a US TV show about the hip hop music industry. Smollett is black and openly gay, and has recently hit headlines after claiming to be a victim of a violent hate crime.

According to Smollett the attack consisted of physical and verbal abuse, with his attackers clearly shouting racist and homophobic remarks. The attack also attracted a lot of attention when ‘MAGA’, Trump’s slogan, was positioned as the motive behind the crime.

Smollett’s account of the attack was no doubt horrifying, but as the plot thickened, it became even more disturbing. Not because of the assault, or the attackers, but because it became increasingly clear that the whole thing was a hoax.

Here’s everything you need to know about Smollett’s initial version of events, and how it began to seem like a staged hoax, orchestrated by Smollett himself.

The attack according to Smollett

The alleged hate crime against Jussie Smollett started in January, when a threatening letter addressed to Smollett arrived at the Empire production offices.

Inside the letter magazine letters had been cut out and stuck to the paper so that they spelled out ‘you will die black f**.’ Next to the message was what looked like a children’s drawing of a gun pointed at a man being hung. There was also a white powder in the envelope, which later turned out to be crushed up Tylenol. But the worst was yet to come.

On January 29, Smollett claimed to have been attacked by two Trump supporters. He insisted the crime was one of hate, claiming that his attackers were both white and that they shouted racist and homophobic insults at him.

Just a day after the attack supposedly happened, and a few hours after Smollett had been discharged from hospital, the police began searching CCTV footage for evidence of the attack, and the attackers themselves.

The police were able to identify potential suspects, but started to doubt the validity of Smollett’s story. Smollett then became frustrated, claiming that the police would have reacted differently had the attackers not been white..

The plot thickened when police investigators asked Smollett for his phone, he refused several times, claiming that there were private videos and information stored on the device. Police wanted the phone because Smollett had apparently been on the phone to his manager during the attack.

It was later revealed that Smollett had been texting the brothers, supposedly for fitness training purposes. The brothers claimed that the attack had been a set up, staged by Smollett himself.

Why did Smollett stage the attack?

If it’s proven that Smollett did stage the attack, the question on everyone’s mind will be ‘why?’. There are several theories floating around, some believe he did it for a career boost, as a publicity stunt, but others believe there’s a more political reason.

Smollett’s version of events included how the attackers were Trump supporters who shouted about making America great again. The initial media response focused heavily on the MAGA slogan as a cause for hatred and brutality, and this is perhaps what Smollett was aiming for. Even before the attack, Smollett was openly anti-Trump.

The timing of all this is suspect as this is happening at exactly the same time that some democrat lawmakers were trying to pass an anti-lynching bill in congress. Some people suspect, this was all just a political stunt that went wrong.

What will happen to Smollett now?

Smollett’s attack is still under investigation, so there’s still a chance that he could be found innocent. However, the evidence is stacking against him, and it’s looking likely that the actor will be convicted for filing a false report.